I know this is completely off topic but why is it that some minor league clubs have players numbers retired? I guess the talk of a permanent Ahl player like Bonvie got me to thinking about it. Because I was at a Chiefs game once and remember seeing numbers retired up in the rafters. If the player was that good why wasn't he playing with the big club? I thought maybe there were cases like Michel Briere where the player was supposed to be pretty good but unexpectedly died young or maybe the player turned out to be good and the team wanted to show that he used to play there.

Daniel87 wrote:I know this is completely off topic but why is it that some minor league clubs have players numbers retired? I guess the talk of a permanent Ahl player like Bonvie got me to thinking about it. Because I was at a Chiefs game once and remember seeing numbers retired up in the rafters. If the player was that good why wasn't he playing with the big club? I thought maybe there were cases like Michel Briere where the player was supposed to be pretty good but unexpectedly died young or maybe the player turned out to be good and the team wanted to show that he used to play there.

Most of the time with retired minor-league players, they have done something special for hockey in that area.

Bonvie will probably have his number retired or be in some sort of hall of fame thing in Wilkes-Barre because of what he has meant for hockey in NE PA. The Arena is nicknamed "The House that Bonvie Built". That's because he had a big hand in growing the attendance and the fan base, as well as reaching out to the community.

Bonvie does an annual hockey camp for kids and a lot for the less fortunate in this area.

I'm not a fan of his play on the ice, but he is a genuinely good guy off of the ice. He and Matt Carkner did wonderful things for the people in this area last year.

Daniel87 wrote:I know this is completely off topic but why is it that some minor league clubs have players numbers retired? I guess the talk of a permanent Ahl player like Bonvie got me to thinking about it. Because I was at a Chiefs game once and remember seeing numbers retired up in the rafters. If the player was that good why wasn't he playing with the big club? I thought maybe there were cases like Michel Briere where the player was supposed to be pretty good but unexpectedly died young or maybe the player turned out to be good and the team wanted to show that he used to play there.

One was Galen Head, a very good person and player. He helped establish the Bishop McCourt Hockey team. Another was Dick Roberge # 11, another solid player in Johnstown. Don Hall # 9 was the third. I remember Roberge and Head playing. I don't remember Hall, as I wasn't born yet.

Daniel87 wrote: Another was Dick Roberge # 11, another solid player in Johnstown. Don Hall # 9 was the third. I remember Roberge and Head playing. http://www.fed-up.com/dad/

Roberge is professional hockeyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s all-time leading scorer with 1,699 points, 737 goals and 962 assists in 1,158 games during 17 seasons.This could be why Roberge's # is retired, although I think they meant minor league hockey's all time leading scorer. I also think I read somewhere that he in Slapshot, as the ref who tossed Hanrahan from the game but I'm not 100% on that. That alone should be enough reason to retire his number.